The fight of a lifetime
by PurelyReading
Summary: What if Dumbledore had made the logical decision in his office during 5th year? What if he hadn't taken the blame but stayed to protect his students, therefore sending Harry to Azkaban?
1. Introduction

A/N: I met a cute guy some time ago. I wanted to impress him, so I told him that I was J. K. Rowling. Unfortunately he left. He said he was pretty sure that she was rich enough to not hang out at McDonald's. So I ate my fries and and stayed my-not-very-Rowlingy-self. None of this is mine.

Introduction

There is an island in the middle of a dark and stormy sea. The waves are constantly gnawing at the island's flesh, pulling it apart more every day. Every now and then a bigger lump crashes into the black water, allowing it to come a little closer to the rotten and mildewed building where the dampness can not be removed from the walls anymore and the pressure in the air betrays the ease the willing inhabitants float with through the dark alleys. The less compliant beings feel it the more. If one would wish to do so, he would see the figures in dirty, striped clothing rocking themselves on the ground or shuffling in circles, mumbling terrified and angry. The farer he would descend under the ground, the louder it will become. Screaming and mad cackling would join in, turning up the volume even further.

But then, he would reach the last floor. The density of the air has risen so far here that sound travels a lot slower, but the few pitiful inmates do not care. Their guards are not causing sounds and they themselves are devoid of the energy it takes to talk or move. They are silent, lying huddled in a corner and have their eyes closed. And there, in one of the cells of Azkaban, lies Harry Potter, the savior of the wizard world.

"Dumbledore! Are you even listening to me?"  
>"Yes, Sirius, I am. It's just that I can not do what you ask of me. " Dumbledore's voice sounded strained and had an unusual edge to it.<br>"You can't. Right. I think you meant you don't want to. Damn it, Dumbledore, you are the most powerful wizard of our times! It's been three months, I will not wait any longer. If you don't put an end to it, I will!"  
>Dumbledore who had faced the window of his office sharply turned his head.<br>"Do not act rash, Sirius. Harry wants you to be safe."  
>"We can't even know if Harry wants anything anymore."<br>Dumbledore's face crumbled. He slowly walked around his desk to put his hand on the younger man's shoulder.  
>"I know that this is hard for you, my friend. I miss him, too. As for now, we have to set out trust in Harry. His strength and brave heart will help him through this. You of all people should know about the impact of innocence in Azkaban. - And that Harry is about as innocent as one can be.", Dumbledore added with a sad smile.<br>"And that Harry is more sensitive to Dementors than others. That he has been through even more last year that he seriously doesn't have to relive again and again!" Sirius voice was rising again.  
>"And you've let them take him there!"<br>"I had no other choice , Sirius. Harry knew what he was toying with when he founded the DA."  
>"Are you saying he deserves Azkaban?", Sirius screamed.<br>"Will you please think before you talk, Sirius? You know that I don't. The only way to save Harry from this would have meant that I had to leave this school. If it was just for me I would gladly have done anything to protect him but I am needed here. There is a war coming and I need to protect my student. I can not betray them and my responsibility."  
>Pacingly he added "We will get Harry out of there, I promise. For now, let it be. For the greater good."<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling alone as you all know. On with the story.

Dumbledore looked at Harry with a face filled with disappointment and pain.  
>"Please tell me that this is not true, Harry!" he whispered barely audible. "Tell me you did not found an army that is supposed to fight the ministry. What have you done?"<br>Harry opened his mouth as if to say something, but then closed it again and stared at his feet.  
>"It's called "Dumbledore's Army". You are behind this, Dumbledore! Don't try to slither your way out of this." Umbridge grinned maliciously as Fudge approached Dumbledore. "Now we have proof that it was you all the time. You will come with me now!"<br>"Minister, as you see, it had nothing to do with me. Young Harry and his friends will be my witnesses, I am sure." Dumbledore looked at Harry demandingly.  
>"Yes, of course, Dumbledore had nothing to do with it!" Harry burst out. "It was me the whole time. I only wanted to teach the others how to protect themselves, we didn't do anything bad, I mean, Voldemort is out there and…"<br>"Enough!", Umbridge screeched and roughly slapped him across the face. Stunned Harry looked at her and then at his headmaster, awaiting some kind of protection, but it was Professor McGonagall who reacted first.  
>"You will not physically harm my students, Professor Umbridge." She hissed "He is a child and also under your care!"<br>"He is a criminal, dear" said Umbridge sweetly. "I'm sure you will find I can do anything I want." McGonagall's face promised a nasty answer when Dumbledore finally spoke up.  
>"Surely we can find some kind of agreement on this. You will see that he did not mean any harm. Maybe some more detention served with you, Professor," he began when he was interrupted.<br>"This – boy, he committed treachery on our society again and again, but this time was one too many. And still, still!, even after being caught like this, you two still lie and betray. But I will not have this, Dumbledore. We know that you are responsible and if you choose not to confess and stand up for what you have done, I am sure Harry will tell us eventually." Umbridge's spoke with a particularly nasty edgea at first that turned sweeter with every word. "I mean, I have heard that you, dear, have a weak spot for Dementors. But in the end, what is not to like about them? How they remind you of all the nice memories, hm, Harry? Oh yes, you will have a great deal of nostalgia!" Harry grew paler and paler.  
>"Professor!" he said more nervous this time. "Professor, you know that I didn't want… I didn't mean… They can't... can they?"<br>"I'm afraid they can, my boy." Dumbledore spoke quietly. You broke the law and this time there is no way around it. "  
>"But, Professor, I only wanted to…" But Professor Dumbledore lifted his hand to stop him and lowered his head to the massive desk in front of him.<br>"Professor!" Harry said desperately. "Professor!"  
>Umbridge roughly seized his arms behind his back and conjured a heavy pair of chains around his wrists, Fudge told Percy to alarm the Dementors and as Harry was pushed out of Dumbledore's office his last call for help remained unanswered. "Professor!"<p>

No one, not even McGonagall, saw the tear that was rolling down Dumbledore's cheek as he buried his face in his hands. "My boy" he whispered. "My poor boy"

Harry was pulled through the castle. Through his shock, he dully wondered why they didn't make a big show out of this. He had expected to leave his home flanked with one dementor on each side, presented as a trophy to the castle's inhabitants, their final proof that he was a liar and insane but they sneaked him through hidden passways and lonely corridors. Harry was glad that he was at least spared the humiliation in front of this school where his enemies outnumbered his friends, but more important he didn't want to see the faces of those who did like him. He imagined Ron and Hermione staring incredously and Cho crying and Fred and George without their identical grin. They would be just as shocked as he was. Dumbledore. Harry knew that he had broken the law, but some part of him had been sure that Dumbledore would save him somehow. Dumbledore always did. He consolidated himself with the thought that Dumbledore would come and get him out of this. He only had to make it through a few hours, maybe a day, and Dumbledore would come up with a brilliant solution. In the end, he was the greatest wizard alive.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: The world of Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling alone as you all know.  
>Thank you, little-bast, 917brat and OmnitrixFairy74, for reviewing.<br>Thank you twice, anthony37, for reviewing twice.  
>Thank you fourfold, Richardc269, for your time spent on trying to improve my story!<p>

* * *

><p><em>It is dark and it is cold. His arm hurts. His leg hurts. The colours are all wrong like someone mixed them, slurred and dirty looking. There is a man standing hunched over a big, round form. Something very bright in the figure's hand flashes. A blade! Liquid is moving on it, running back and forth and as he focuses on it everything else seems to freeze. The liquid is pooling at the blade's tip, excruciatingly slowly forming a bulge and he doesn't want it to fall, it must not fall, suddenly he is sure of that. Now the world starts to move and only the bulge is solid until – <em>Drop_ – The blood causes little waves to circle around the point where it hit the surface and the sound seems to echo through the empty graveyard – _Drop_ – It is incredibly loud, like a drum beat – _Drop_ – He can feel the sound in his body, his body is vibrating and waves are now running through him as well as if – _Drop_ –he was underneath the surface of the kettle – _Drop_ – as if he was wakened from a place closer to death than life. – _Drop_ – Why won't the blood stop falling? – _Drop _– why couldn't he stop Cedric from falling? – _Drop_ – Why couldn't he save him? – _Drop_ – Why couldn't he – _Drop_ – just for once – _Drop_ – do the normal thing – _Drop_ – and take the damned cup? _

_ Cedric's pale face is floating on the liquid. Harry tries to say something, he has already opened his mouth when Voldemort breaks through the surface and the image is shattered and vanishes. It is dark and it is cold. He is alone__.  
><em>

* * *

><p>A sudden flash cut through Harry's like a lightning bold. For another secomemory nd he saw Voldemort's face again and then he slowly opened his eyes feeling something wet rolling down his face. Briefly he wondered if it was sweat or a tear when a door close to him was slammed shut. Harry lifted his head , flinching at the strain in his neck and his shoulders. He wanted to swipe the sweat or tear or whatever it was from his faces when he realized he couldn't move his hands. Harry frowned trying to remember why he felt like he had slept on the bare floor of his cupboard. Surely this wasn't Surrey. It was sterile as well but the interior lacked any pictures of pig-whale-crossovers. Harry smirked.<p>

He was sitting on a chair made of steel, at a matching table with hands tied behind his back. There was nothing else in the room as far as he could see. The walls were white. Turning around as far as he could Harry was still unable to make out a door or at least a window. If it wasn't for this strange missing entrance he would have sworn this was a Muggle room. A waiting room in a hospital or a train station maybe. Suddenly he remembered the incidences preceding his unconsciousness and the smirk that had already been fading vanished completely.

"Ah, so you do recall, don't you? I thought you went nuts already grinning to yourself like that. But then again, your memory does not state anything about your mind, does it?"

A pink toad appeared in front of him. Umbridge stared at Harry as if he was a very tasty fly about to be devoured.

"You're not one of the faster ones, I realized so much already, but sweetheart, that took you a long time since the dementor left. I hope you are comfortable as we will probably have some quality time for ourselves here."

Harry opened his mouth slightly, but Umbridge lifted her finger immediately.

"Before you even ask, honey, you are in the Minisitry right now. And I know, I know" she sighed "this is not a very pretty place but we will make it ours, right?"

Umbridge leaned closer on him and whispered "Just a moment". She brought a pink purse up to her knees, opened it and pulled out a bright pink vase filled with artificially pink flowers. Harry stared at it stupidly waiting for some kind of explanation, but Umbridge simply set the flowers next to her hand onto the table.

"Now, isn't that much better!" She smiled at Harry as if waiting for approvement.

Harry had enough: "What do you want, Umbridge?" he asked gruntily.

Umbridge smacked his face. "I did not give you permission to speak! But if you are keen on talking, here is a set of questions you may answer" She opened her purse once more, removing a thick file and a feather this time. Umbridge dropped the file theatrically onto the table. She took out a sheet of parchment and dipped just the very tip of the feather into a pot of ink that had magically appeared. The feather hovered over the paper.

"For what purpose did you and Dumbledore found the highly illegal and secret group "Dumbledore's army"?"

"He didn't. I founded it so..."

A hard impact on his head made him jump. Umbridge hadn't moved.

"For what purpose did you and Dumbledore found the highly illegal and secret group "Dumbledore's army"?" she repeated happily.

Harry was dumbstruck for a moment. Then he began once more.

"I was the one who founded..."

This time, the pain increased slightly.

"For what purpose..."

"You can't do this! This is illegal. You have no right to hurt me!"

Umbridge paused and tilted her head to the side. Her smile broadened.

"Mister Potter, as I have told you before I have every right to do with you whatever pleases me. It is official now." She pulled out another piece of paper from the stack in her hands and turned it around so Harry could read it.

_Abrogation of rights_

_I hereby declare_

_ Harry James Potter__ as a danger to all wizardkind. According to paragraphs 13 to 16 of the Act against the Dark Arts, 1979, he is considered inhuman before his full confession and the disclosure of all information that may serve the purpose of the light._

_Cornelius Oswald Fudge, Minister of Magic  
><em>  
>A heavy silence hung in the air. Harry read the notice again.<p>

"You look a little bit unsettled, my dear. Maybe you need some time to think over your answer?" She paused.  
>" I will aid you in reviewing your arguments."<p>

Umbridge waved her wand in a ridiculously small gesture and three dementors seemed to be melting into the room. Already Harry's surroundings started to blur. Harry closed his eyes and as he fell unconscious the word inhuman seemed to ring in his ears

* * *

><p>"Severus, for Merlin's sake, stop that madness!"<p>

A haggard Remus Lupin was trying to hold back Sirius as he struggled to get to Dumbledore.

"You ... bastard" Sirius cried with a strained voice due to the arms wrapped around his upper body. "How ... could ... you ... do ... that?"

"Sirius, Dumbledore didn't want to – " Remus started softly as Sirius twisted around and raised his hand when he suddenly froze.

"Enough, Sirius." Dumbledore spoke. "Don't lose control, you would feel regret later."

"He doesn't mean what he is saying, Dumbledore. He is just – " Lupin began.

"I know, my friend. I know that this is a painful situation for all of us. But right now is the worst possible time to weaken the bonds connecting us. We must stand together closer than ever before. There is a war coming up, a war that we must not lose".

He turned around to face the pale and shaken looking Order members seated in the dark, cramped kitchen of Grimmauld Place No. 12.

"These are times of pain. This is why we have to fight for our ideals. We will save what we love. And this" he looked at Sirius again "this of course includes Harry." He cancelled the spell that held Sirius in full body bind.

"For now, we have to concentrate on the problems we can solve. Severus, will you please tell us what you have heard."

"I will, Dumbledore. As you all now, the Dark Lord summoned us to a meeting last night. It didn't start off very pretty. I will skip the unpleasant details, they do not reveal anything we don't know. Let's just say, the Dark Lord seemed to experience some need to vent."

"Do you know why?" Lupin asked tentatively.

"No, I don't. I can say however, that the Dark Lord's moods are not always predictable."

"Well, anything that makes You-Know-Who angry is good for us, right?" Tonks asked.

"You are fooling yourself." Severus seemed annoyed. "We do not know the cause, we should not jump to conclusions. However, what I was going to tell you is actually relevant so listen and..."

"Still it might be of importance to us." Dumbledore seemed to be in deep thought.  
>"We will have to go through past week's events again. Maybe we missed something."<p>

"Yes, but Dumbledore -" Severus started again when Arthur burst in through the doors, leaving it creaking and slightly swaying for a moment.

"I made some progress with Amelia Bones. She might be willing to help us." He stopped and tried to catch his breath.

Sirius who had been absent-mindedly carving into the wooden kitchen table of lifted his head immediately upon Arthur's cautious remark. A simmer of a satisfied grin flashed over his face.

"Yes! I knew it!"

"Sirius, I don't believe Arthur has finished yet", he was once more gently admonished by Lupin.

"Well, she can not help bringing Harry back. This is a matter of utmost importance for the ministry and she would be punished severely for that kind of treachery. But she is very law-abiding and strict. Amelia seemed very upset about the way the ministry imprisoned Harry without a sound case, without a warrant of arrest and without any ambition of granting him a trial. Upset enough to facilitate a visit."

"A visit? That's not going to help him at all!" Sirius snarled.

"It's not much but it is something. Sirius, sit down again or we will have to exclude you from our meeting." Dumbledore patiently waited to continue while the sulking Sirius took seat again.  
>"I am worried about the consequences for both Amelia and us. What would happen if someone found out we tried to break into Azkaban, independent of our purpose there? Right now we surely can not afford to bend the law."<p>

"Well, we worked out a plan that should be fool-proof. If you give me a second, I will explain."

After an encouraging nod from Dumbledore, Arthur drew a quick breath and looked at the other members of the order that were grouped on old and dangerous looking chairs. He coughed when he inhaled dust.

"Harry is not yet in Azkaban which can be considered as good, I believe. However, we can't get to him while he is in the ministry. He will not be alone there, they are going to watch him. But as soon as they send him to Azkaban we can get it going. The first thing to do is to determine the cell he is kept him. That should be fairly easy since he will be the only prisoner that does not have any records. We will look out for the place with dementor activity where should be none. Next, we will assess the inmates surrounding him and pick one we can find a reason to see. Amelia will then give us permission to visit that inmate late at night in an "emergency case" and we simply visit Harry instead. It shouldn't be too hard if we –"

"I will do it!" Sirius jumped in.

"The guards can't be fooled with Polyjuice Potion." Snape sneered smoothly. "They would check you into your favourite Azkaban suite immediately. Not that I would mind, Black. I am just savouring the thought of you being back where you belong."

"I believe it is you that belongs to Azkaban, Snivellus. Or why don't you show us your arm?"

"Enough!" Molly screeched. She had been silent all the way through the discussion. The upcoming war was most visible on her. The depth of her wrinkles had increased and her clothes looked too big on her.  
>"Can't you two – for once – be helpful?"<p>

"I", Severus emphasized, "am helpful. Otherwise I couldn't tell you right now that the Dark Lord is conducting a plan that our favourite hero is supposed to play a rather big part in."

"What kind of plan?" questioned Dumbledore.

"The Dark Lord has not supplied me with that information yet. But he will, eventually." Severus raised from his chair. "Maybe even tonight." As he turned his back on the group of exhausted order members no one could see the hint of darkness sneaking into Snape's eyes.


End file.
